Improved fire-arm



DR. ALEXANDRE LE MAT, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

IIVIPROVED FIRE-ARM.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 15,925, dated October21, 1856.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Dr. ALEXANDRE LE MAT, of the city of' New Orleans,State ot' Lou isiana, have invented a new and Improved Center-BarreledRevolver; and I do hereby declare that the following' is afull and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the let-ters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in using a shot-barrel instead ofthe solid central cylinder, upon which the cartridge-cylinder ofrevolvers, constructed upon Golts and other similar systems revolve, andin adapting to such revolver a cock of such construction as to explodetherewith, at pleasure, either the caps of the cartridge-cylinder or ofthe central shot-barrel.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

I construct my center-harreled pistol or gun in any of the forms knownof Colts and similer revolvers, but instead ot' the usual centralcylinder I employ ashot-barrel, S, which may either be screwed to thebreech, as in Nos. 1 and 10 of thedrawings,or wrought of one piece withthe same.

The chimney of the barrel is placed in a recess practiced in the breech,as shown in 2 and 3, and at a slight distance back from the revolvercartridge-cyliuder. There may be sev eral methods to explode therespective caps of the revolvingcartridge-cylinder and of the centralbarrel. For the sake of exemplitication I have represented in 4 a topand side views of a slide which plays exactly over the chimney ofthecentral barrel, as represented in 2 and 3. This slide being by a springkept in the position as shown in Fig. 2, a cock constructed, asrepresented in 5, with two hammers would, upon the trigger being pulled,explode with its upper hammer the caps upon the revolvingcartridge-cylinder, the slide et being in such position as to present noobstacle to its inner or lower hammer, while the same slide, being byamere pressure upon its exterior button or knob pushed in the breech, asshown in 3, the cap set upon it would come to stand exactly over thechimney of the central barrel, and consequently the cock, on dropping,will strike with its inner hammer the said cap, and thus explode thesame, leaving the cap ofthe cartridge-cylinder untouched. To that plan,however, I prefer the following arrangement:

No. 1l ot' the drawings shows a cock with4 two hammers, a and b, thehammer a of such a length as to strike the caps of the revolvingcartridge-cylinder and the hammer b to strike the cap of the centralshot-barrel. The cock is provided with a slit, extending from e (l toef, to admit the insertion ot' the hammer I), and the latter, afterbeing placed in said slit, is firmlypivoted tothecock on the nutg, whichis permanently fastened to both side faces ot' the cock, but on'whichthe hammer b is made to move freely thereon. The hammer bis dovetailedat its lower extremity, at the inner side of which is a notch, h, whilethe outer side forms a somewhat elongated bar, At right angles with theabove-mentioned longitudinal slit in the cock is a transverse slit, k,which corresponds exactly with the aperture l of the above dovetail ofthe hammer b. In this transverse slit plays a ring, m, mounted upon aspring, o, keeping it in the position shown in 11, and which embracesthe outer bar, t', of the dovetailed hammer b while in the positionshown in A, and the same hammer, being in the position exhibited in I3,clasps the recess or notch hof the inner side of the dovetail. Thus thecock, being set as in A, and which I call its regular form,77 will, uponpulling the trigger, strike with hammer a the caps of the revolvingcartridge-box; but upon pushing the ring m down the transverse slit 7cthe hammer b will assume the position as in B, and the ring m, moved upagain by the spring o, will embrace the recess or notch h, and thus holdit fast, so that on pulling the trigger the cock,l with its hammer b,will strike the cap of the central shot-barrel.

No.9 represents a shot-cartridge, which may be used for the centralbarrel in any of the usual ways. Nos. 6 and 7 are views of the usualrevolving cartridgecylinder.

The operation of my revolver speaks for itselt, the cartridge-cylinderbeing charged in the usual way with bullets and the central barrel withshot. Now, in the firing of the bullet-charges the cock remainsundisturbed in its regular form, as shown in A, 11, but whenever thecentral barrel is to'bc tired the ring m of the cock l1 is pushed downwith the index finger ofthe hand holding the pistol, and and the hammerb is set ith the other hand in the position as shown in B, when the ringm, returns up again t0 embrace the notch hI of the dovetail of thehammer b by the elasticity of the spring 0. The cock being thus set i'orthe discharge of the center barrel, the trigger may be pulled and saidbarrel discharged. lf there be any bullet-charges still left, the cockis again brought to its regular forni, as indicated above, previous topulling the trigger anew. A means Ot' close defense and attack is thusgiven, heretofore not, known or used, which in naval combats isespecially invaluable.

A. LE MAT.

Attest:

JOHN S. HOLLINGSHEAD, C. GIRARD, M. D.

